Sinister and Sweet A Damned Love
by Simply Abbey
Summary: This year Voldemort is the least of Hermione's worries. She's now come to realize that a vampire has been living in her mind and according to the prophecy, only the touch of a snake can vanquish it. And our snake is...Draco? DracoHermione
1. Sweet

Dislcaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

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**Sweet**

Sweet. Sweet as butterbeer. Ask anyone and that is how they would describe Hermione Granger. A little bossy, sure. But none the less sweet. She lived a life on the top of a mountain. Sure it was a little rocky on the way there, but she was there, and living large. She had the best friends she could ever ask for. The brave and noble Harry Potter, and the kind, funny Ron Weasley. These three made quite a bunch. They'd been through heaven and hell together. They'd been to balls together, classes together; they'd even had to face death together. Not a force in the world could tear this trio apart (and plenty had tried.) But now it is summer break and the group of friends is now habbitating the dark and dusty house of Black (Number 12 Grimmuald Place.).

Hermione Granger stretched her hands to the ceiling as she leaned back in her comfy armchair, soaking in the information she had just read in her newest book "Dark Spells and How to Counter Them: Artumes Kingfield Jr."

"There are some pretty interesting spells in here, Harry," Hermione said in an excited tone. She waved the book around in her enthusiasm. "It would be fascinating to go over them in D.A."

Harry Potter let out a sigh as he threw down his quill and flopped back in his own armchair.

"I'm already having to struggle with my Defense Against the Dark Arts homework, Hermione. I don't even want to think about planning a D.A. lesson today," Harry said in an exhausted voice as he curled up with every intention to fall asleep right there on his chair.

Hermione rolled her eyes. They had started the group D.A. (Dumbldore's Army) last year when the ministry felt obligated to enroll their own teacher in the roll as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts as a spy. When their teacher had refused to actually show them how to do the spells they were taught, Harry and a group people formed a group and, Harry as their leader, they learned complicated spells that would help them defend themselves against Voldemort. Even though the issue with the professor had been resolved (thanks to Hermione's clever thinking), Dumbledore encouraged them to continue this small group.

"Yeah," said Ron weakly as he clutched his head. "I don't know how much of a help I'll be, mate. I'm too busy trying to force out some decent words for this Potions essay to do something that involves standing."

Hermione gave an exasperated sigh as she stood up and made her way to the kitchen, leaving her two best friends to complain amongst themselves. She didn't know why they complained. She absolutely loved to do essays. They stretched her mind in so many directions that she was surprised she didn't have an oddly shaped head.

Strolling into the kitchen Hermione was overwhelmed by the sudden rush of smell. Chicken, potatoes, corn, carrots, bread, freshly churned butter, stew, everything. Mrs. Weasley had defiantly out done herself. Turning to the table Hermione could see Fred and George talking animatedly to Lupin. Curious, Hermione walked towards them.

"Ah. Hermione. Finish your book?" Lupin asked, noticing Hermione's presence in the room.

"Yes Professor. It was quite fascinating. I think it will come in handy for D.A." Hermione said proudly.

"Excellent," Lupin said excitedly. "You should tell Harry. He said he had no idea what he was going to do for your next D.A. lesson. That was a really good idea you kids came up with. Dumbledore was quite pleased to hear of all of you putting such an effort up for the Resistance."

The war against Voldemort had quickly earned the name that everyone affectionately called the Resistance. And, indeed, they were a resistance. They resisted to fall the the hands of Voldemort, and there for resisted reason. They resisted government, law and power to keep the balance of life where it belonged. Thus the name "Resistance" had been born.

Hermione sighed as she shook her head. "I already have. He didn't really jump at the idea, though. He's still working on his Defense Against the Dark Arts essay."

"Perhaps I'll give him a hand with it when dinner's over," Lupin suggested.

Hermione nodded happily. "Oh yes, sir! I'm sure Harry would love that. You're better off helping him than I am. Defense Against the Dark Arts was never my strongest subject."

Just then, Harry and Ron came bursting through the kitchen door. Pulling up a seat next to Hermione, Ron threw himself down in the chair with an overabundant eagar style. Greedily grabbing both his fork and his spoon and looked about expectantly.

"So," He said anxiously reminding Hermione an awful lot of a dog that knows it's feeding time, "when do we eat?"

Harry gave a rather large snort and Lupin looked at Ron as though he wasn't sure what to say in a response. Hermione scowled.

"I'm sure it won't be long, Ron," Hermione said through gritted teeth.

"I hope so. I'm starved," Ron said, tucking his napkin into the collar of his shirt, completely oblivious to Hermione's embarrasment. He could be completely thick sometimes.

Seconds later Mrs. Weasley came bustling into the kitchen followed closely by Mr. Weasley, Mad-Eye Moody and Mundungus.

"Okay everyone. We eat as soon as we get the food on the table," Mrs. Weasley said.

Ron gave an enthusiastic leap from his chair as he raced to help his mother. In his haste knocked over a chair which crashed into a cabinet that had been holding spare dishware. Several plates and mugs came crashing to the ground. Crockshanks, Hermione's cat, bolted from the room as the house was suddenly filled with a loud shrieking voice.

_Filthy Mudbloods, Blood traitors, Half-breeds. Even though my son is dead you still linger. Be gone with your filthy souls…_

"I'll do it," Lupin yelled in an exasperated voice above the racket while Hermione and Harry set forth to the task of reparing the dishes

Everyone, taking a dish of food, sat down at the table. Just as Mrs. Weasley was setting down the last dish Lupin came back into the room .

"Well," he said, "Let's eat."

Everyone started grabbing food. Everyone, that is, except Harry. He was staring at the empty chair beside him. Hermione bit her lip. Harry was thinking of Sirius. Lupin must have noticed too because he patted Harry reassuringly on the back. Harry gave him a weary smile and turned to gather food to his plate. Hermione couldn't help but worry about Harry. He hadn't been to right since the incident at the Ministry. Hermione still had nightmares from her own adventure there. She hadn't even witnessed the death of Harry's godfather.

Harry must have noticed Hermione's troubled look, because he forced a smile at her. Hermione tried to smile back, but she couldn't. Images of the others struggling with the death eaters swarmed into her head, clotting out every piece of reality. Suddenly, a stream of sparks passed before her eyes, and she fell to a lump on the ground. Yet, everything didn't go black as it had when she had been hit by a spell in the Department of Mysteries. Instead, she lie on the floor watching everything. She could see Harry, his handsome face torn and tattered. He was holding his wand out to Voldemort. Harry's chest fell and rose in a dangerous manner, suggesting he was about to collapse. Suddenly, Voldemort turned from Harry. A sinister, Malfoy-like expression played wickedly across his face. He rose his wand and pointed it at a figure in the background. A green light shone from Voldemort's wand, piercing the darkness. The light reveiled Sirius's face, full of horror. Her fell limply to the ground…

"Hermione?"

As the fog cleared, Hermione could see Harry's troubled face.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said uneasily. "Yeah, I am."

Hermione shook head.

_Atleast, I think so.'_


	2. Sinister

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!

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**Sinister**

Sinister. The very word makes you shiver. Sort of reminds you of something from a horror film. But I bet you never thought sinister to mean a 17 year old boy who's fatherless. Well you obviously haven't met Draco Malfoy.

Draco sneered as he looked down over his mother's party. Every important person from the ministry had come. He could see his mother entertaining the Minister himself. House-elves darted to-and-fro, holding trays of everything from firewhiskies to butterbeer.

Draco cocked his head back as he made his way down the stairs. As he slowly made his way down, several heads turned. It was obvious why. Draco's cold, evil smile could turn a roaring fire into solid ice. His very presence in a room could not go unnoticed. He thrust his hands into his robe pockets fingering his wand. He had just recently returned home from his wizarding school with the ability to use his magic and he had every intention of causing chaos around the house.

It was when Draco reached the bottom of the stairs that he spotted his first victim. A filthy Mudblood by the name of Rupert Grinhart. He worked in the "Correction of Death Eater Mayhem", a new department formed a few months ago. Their job is to correct anything that was screwed with by the Death Eaters. He had stopped 5 Death Eaters so far, including Draco's father, who had escaped from Azkaban some months ago. To Draco, he seemed the perfect target.

Draco lazily made his way over to the filthy waste of flesh. He carefully pulled his wand from his pocket and very discreetly pointed it to Rupert Grinhart's buttocks. He quickly and quietly mutter the spell under his breath.

"_Incendio_," he muttered happily.

Draco then carefully and slyly made his way from the man. Once he was a good ways away he spun around and listened to the man's cries of pain.

"Ouch! Ouch! It's bloody hot!" the buffoon yelled.

Suddenly the eyes of Draco's mom were upon him. Draco could feel them burn into him and pierce his soul. Draco carefully turned to face her, an innocent look on his porcelain face.

"We'll talk about this later," she mouthed angrily.

Draco shrugged. He had no intention having his mother think that what she did to him mattered, when in fact it very much did.

"_Incendium Abscedere_," Draco heard someone say.

Draco spun away from the chaos and made his way to the dinning room. Draco scrunched up his face. It absolutely reeked of vomit and beer in there. It was quite stupid of mother to serve alcohol at parties. These lame guests from the Ministry had hardly ever sipped even a light pepperbeer before, let alone a fire-whiskey. Placing a Bubble-Head charm on himself, Draco made his way over the barrel that held the butterbeers. Taking 4 in his left hand Draco left the room and headed back to the main hall. Once outside he pulled out his wand with his right hand and removed the Bubble-Head charm. The large plastic like bubble around his head popped and exposed Draco's head to the heat of the hall. It was getting quite uncomfortable in here.

In a corner of room, talking animatedly, Draco spotted two enormously fat boys and a girl with a girl with a pretty face but a sour look on it that reminded Draco of Hermione Granger's cat. Draco frowned at the disgraceful resemblance. The face belonged to Pansy Parkinson and the two boys were Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. Draco lifted his head high, a smirk covering his face, as he waited for his friends to notice him. It didn't take long at all. Draco's towering form was far from ignorable. Pansy was the first to notice him. She let out a squeal of delight as she made her way over to him and planted a wet kiss on his cheek. Draco let out a small, barely audiable groan as he shoved a butterbeer in her hands and wiped his cheek descreetly. Crabbe and Goyle came next. They let out a grunt (Which was about all the speech they could every really muster) of hello's and took their usual places behind Draco. Draco handed them butterbeers as well before making his way back up the stairs.

Draco climbed the stairs in a manly sort of elegance as Pansy, Gregory and Vincent followed in an admiring suit. When reaching the top, Draco could see that the tension of the room had lifted as he left. Draco sneered. He couldn't have happy guests, now, could he?

"_Patiri Magnus_" Draco said, pointing his wand at a random man in the hall.

A sudden scream echoed the halls as Draco turned to his room, laughing viciously. But not before receiving the deadliest of looks from his mother.

"What was that?" Pansy asked as she followed Draco to his room. Draco motioned to Vincent and Gregory to shut the door behind them

"Pain Enhancement Curse," Draco said as playful sneer crossed his face. "It makes the victims worst fear come true."

"His worse fear can't be worse than mine," Pansy said with a look of disgust on her face. She looked less attractive when she scrunched up her face. It reminded Draco of a frog. That look had only worked on one person. Professor Umbridge. It was shame that the centaurs had done away with her.

"What's your worst fear, Parkinson?" Draco asked as interested a voice he could muster when in the presence of such a being.

"Granger," Pansy said, appearing to be pleased with her diss towards the Golden Girl.

Suddenly, a large white owl flew into the room, dropping a letter on Draco's lap before zooming back out the open window, apparently not wanting a response letter. Draco gave a pleased cackle.

"This'll be from the Ministry, I take it," Draco said as he opened the letter. He smiled with satisfaction as the letter slid from the envelope. He majestically opened it to see the familiar fancy, looped writing of Matilda Harrington, the new head of the Management of Young Wizards and Witches Department. He laughed victoriously as he scanned the writing. Pansy, Vincent, and Gregory looked at him expectantly. Draco looked back up at them, a visible smirk on his face.

"I was right," Draco said in a pleased voice. He could see Pansy shiver with delightt.

"_ Dear Mr. Malfoy,"_ Draco read, _" We have reason to believe that you have preformed magic beyond the limit's the Ministry has set for your level of wizardry. We have reason to believe that has happened before. Any further failures to obey this law set for your safety will result in expulsion from your current school and a possible house arrest.  
Kindest Regards,  
Matilda Harrington_

Pansy let out a shrill laugh of amusement that make the glass of Draco's window crack and bits of glass fell to the ground. The crisp air of the approaching fall swarmed into Draco's room, enveloping them in the smell of a nearby bonfire and pig-roast. Lazy chatter from his mother's party came swimming up to them. Draco shook his head at the innocence of the world.

"_Reparo_," Draco said in a bored tone. The shards of glass that had fallen to the wood of Draco's floor zoomed up to their rightful place in the world. How nice it would feel to know where you belong. It would be so easy to only have to get there.

Out of the corner of his eye, Draco could see Pansy's cheeks turned a slight shade of pink. Draco smirked evilly at Pansy. She was always so self-cautious of what others thought of her. Pretending to not have noticed Draco's cruel action, Pansy made an attempt at starting a conversation with Draco.

"So," she said in her annoyingly high-pitched voice, "What's the plan for the Golden Trio this year?"

Draco smiled. Ah, the Golden Trio. They were possibly the most annoying group of Gryffindors to darken Hogwart's halls. One member of this oh-so-perfect group was one of the biggest muggle-lover, disgrace-of-purebloods ever to walk the earth (unless you counted the headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore.) He was a boy by the name of Ronald Weasley. Then there's the Mudblood Hermione Granger. She's probably the biggest know-it-all in all of Hogwarts. It wouldn't be so bad except she's a mudblood. Draco's father about killed him when he found out that Draco had worse grades then a Mudblood.

But probably the worst of all them was the famous Harry Potter, the boy who lived. He was the man responsible for putting Draco's father in Azkaban for those 4 months. It hardly matter though. Draco's father was free in no time. Now he would come for Draco. And together, the ywould eliminate the Golden Trio and restore glory to Lord Voldemort, the greatest of all wizards. Then, the Malfoy's would have boundless power that they could use to kill any muggleborn that had escaped the war. Draco would call the shots. Draco would be supreme ruler once he got his father and Voldemort out of the way. But first he had to deal with the only people that could stop him. The horrible Hogwarts Trio.

"Endless hell," Draco told Pansy.

Pansy grinned and nodded. Vincent and Gregory grunted their approval, smiling their horrible yellow, crooked smiles. Draco grinned at all of them. It was bound to be a fun year.


	3. Boarding the Hogwarts Express

Dislcaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

**Boarding the Hogwarts Express**

Hermione clutched the door, panting heavily as she attempted to catch her breath. She felt alive, awake, and aware of everything. The ground beneath her shook as the train rumbled from the station. The sound of the horn pierced through the air. It had been awhile since she had a good, fast-paced, energizing run like the one she had just experienced. The train had started to leave suddenly just as they were about to board.

As Hermione's lungs heaved, her heart raced at the aftermath of the run. Her hair smelled of the cool autumn air. Suddenly, a new smell enveloped her senses. Hermione closed her eyes. It was a distinct smell of a light pine with an ever-so-faint scent of sweat. A rapid wave of hot air swarmed about her hair, tickling her neck.

"Some run, hey?" came a deep male voice. Hermione smiled.

"Yeah. Some run," Hermione said as she turned to face Harry. He looked flushed, and small beads of sweat had formed along his brow.

"You don't look beat," Harry said, grinning.

Hermione smiled at Harry. "Yeah, I guess I'm not."

"Well, its no surprise," Harry said with a shrug. Hermione beamed inside. She could never remember a time he had ever been cruel to her or poked fun at her like anyone else might. He was always so nice.

"Listen, Hermione," Harry said awkwardly through his gasping breath. He ran a hand nervously over his tangled black hair. Tangled? Hermione touched her hand to her hair. Sure enough, her own hair was a tangled mess, left from running into the breeze. Hermione sighed.

"Yeah, Harry?" Hermione said as she moved to the bag sitting next to Crockshanks's basket. After shifting around her thick pass-time books, Hermione found a feeble brush with bits of hair entwined in it. Beside it was her mom's hand-mirror.

"Could we go over those D.A. idea's again?"

Hermione started. In the mirror, she could see Harry shifting nervously from foot to foot. Hermione gave a gentle giggle. She turned to Harry, would was watching her intently.

"You mean the ones you didn't want to hear?" Hermione asked, a sneer of friendly pleasure on her face. Harry was never really good at admitting he was wrong.

"Eh, actually, I already have ideas, I just need some more-"

"So basically you're completely lost as to where to start?" Hermione asked. She felt a bubble of pleasure rise up in her as Harry nodded his head.

Shaking her head, Hermione put her brush and mirror back in her bag while pulling out her Dark Spells Book. She fell to the seat, her hair bouncing poetically on her shoulders. Harry slumped over to her side, peering over her shoulder.

They were able to enjoy the calmness of the compartment before Ron came bursting in.

"There you are!" Ron called in an exasperated tone. He tripped into the room, his trunk right behind him. "I thought you had missed the train."

Ron stuck his head out of the compartment, dropping in by the door. "Ginny, Neville, Luna, they're right here!"

Ron came back into the room, flopping on the seat across from Harry and Hermione. Ginny, Ron's sister, Neville, a fellow classmate, and Luna Lovegood, a Ravenclaw closely followed him in Ginny's year.

"So," said Luna energetically. "Anyone see a Whofsnart Banglsmen? I've been looking for one all summer. I suppose they traveled north during May. They really don't like the cold, do they?"

Hermione glanced at Harry, who gave her a shrug. Sighing, Hermione put the book away. It would be rather hard to study with Loony Luna Lovegood trying to explain how the Whofsnart Banglsmen mates.

A few hours later, the train pulled up to the station. The red lights flickered a warning as the train came to a stop. Sighing, Hermione got off the train, lugging Crockshanks and his basket behind her.

Although Hermione had been coming here for years, she was always in awe when it came to the castle. Its lights shone invitingly to her, winking a chorus of light. It was quite a sight. Just imagine the beautiful Hogwarts castle in the distance, the horseless carriages gliding towards you. The lakes water was in view, the boats docked and ready to carry the new first years across to their first year in the magical walls of Hogwarts.

"Hermione, coming?" Ron called. Ron ran up to her. "What's the matter?" He asked softly.

"Nothing, Ron," Hermione said calmly, her eyes sparkling with happiness. "I'm just glad to be back."

Ron smiled kindly at her, taking Crockshanks from under her arm. Taking her by the elbow, Ron steered Hermione towards the nearest carriage. Harry held the door open as Hermione ran in, followed by Ron and Ginny. They all smiled happily. The person ho appeared to be most happy was Harry. His face shone with a radiant happiness. Hermione could never match herself to that. Harry was so, so happy to be back. And Hermione was glad.


	4. Devil's Threat

Dislcaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

**Devil's Threat**

Hermione smiled as she sat on the edge of the lake, the sun setting in the distance. She tapped her quill to her chin as she thought up a conclusion to her Artimancy essay. The leaves on the oak tree above her rustled as the wind whistled by, occasionally sending a leaf or two from it's home on the tree to fall on Hermione's shoulders. The lake was a flat sheet of shimmering silver, occasionally broken by a sudden gust of wind or the Giant Squid. Everything was peaceful and quiet. The only sounds were that of chirping birds and the scratching of Hermione's quill. The crisp air of autumn frazzled her hair, making it rise as if it were attached to a bit of active wire.

"All righ' there, Hermione?" came a gruff voice from behind.

Hermione turned to see her enormous friend Hagrid smiling down on her.

"Hi Hagrid," Hermione said smiling back, "I'm just finishing my Artimancy essay. The topic was quite fascinating. It was-"

"Don' even bother, Hermione," Hagrid said, laughing. "Never was the best at the subject. Quit after a week."

"A week?" Hermione said astounded. "Oh but Hagrid. It's the most interesting subject I've ever taken."

"Yeh, well, Divination can be real interestin' too. But that didn't stop you from quitting." Hagrid said, his smile dropping slightly.

Hermione sighed as she rolled her eyes. "It wasn't that I didn't understand it, Hagrid," she said. "I just think that Trelawney's and old bat who needs her mind examined."

Hagrid shrugged. "Suit yerself, Hermione. See yeh at lessons." 

Hermione watched Hagrid return to his hut to get ready for his gamekeeper duties. He was quite aggravating some times, but he was loyal to Dumbledore and, Hermione hated to admit it, rather funny at sometimes. Plus, no one had been a better friend to Harry than Hagrid. Hermione grumbled to herself as she turned back to her essay. 

Hermione was able to enjoy a good solid half hour of reading time before she was interrupted.

"Well, if it isn't the Mudblood doing what she does best. Being a nerd."

Hermione let out an aggravated moan as she turned to face Draco Malfoy, about the biggest ferret to ever live.

"Bug off, slime," Hermione said turning back to "Artimancy: A Guide to Our Future."

The sneer on Draco's face vanished and turned to a frown of pure distaste.

"What did you say, Granger?" he said, his words dripping with poisonous venom.

Hermione swung around, her bushy hair cascading over he shoulder as she glared daggers at Malfoy.

"I would highly appreciate it if you got your big head out of my light," Hermione spat.

"You want to make trouble, Granger," Malfoy said, his eyes shining with pure and utter hatred. Hermione was certain her eyes said the same thing.

"I don't want to make an trouble, Malfoy. What I want it to be able to read my book and absorb it's contents in peace without having to absorb you putrid smell as well."

Malfoy's wand shot up, aiming for Hermione's head. "You'll pay for that one Granger."

"Expelliarmous"

Draco's wand flew from his hand and landing in front of Harry Potter, who picked it up and twiddled it in his fingers, his own wand pointed at Malfoy.

"You were saying, Malfoy," Harry said, a smile of triumph planted on his face.

Draco sneered at Harry then turned to Hermione. "We'll finish this some other time, Granger."

Without another word, Draco headed toward the castle, snatching his wand from Harry on his way. Harry turned to follow him, but seeing the green sparks that shot from Malfoy's wand, he thought better of it. Although, he still had a cocky 'I-could-take-him' look on his face.

"Thanks, Harry," Hermione said.

"You ought to be careful around him, Hermione. He means to cause you hell," Harry said, a concerned frown on his face.

"I know Harry," Hermione said, packing up her stuff. "He's nothing but a Good-For-Nothing-Slytherin-Pureblood. Let's go. It's almost supper time."

With out another word, Hermione slung her bag over her shoulder and started off towards Hogwarts. The wind whipped about her. She shivered as she pulled her cloak closer around her. It pounded into her back, forcing her forward. Whether it was her mood or a dramatic change in the weather, the air was no longer the kind, gentle breeze it had been before.

Suddenly, the wind behind her ceased. Hermione glanced over her shoulder to see Harry walking behind her, wand still in hand, glancing about nervously. He clearly didn't trust Malfoy. That was okay. She didn't trust him either.


	5. Artemis

Dislcaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

**Artemis**

The girl bit her lip as she slowly crept through the halls. Three-hundred years. It was three-hundred year to the day since her last meal. She was so hungry. She had been counting down the years until she could thrive again. Three hundred years stuck inside this innocent teen, waiting. She grinned as she made her way to the nearest room. She knew just the place. She had seen him tease the girl every day. He would taunt her to tears. It was time to take action. The big ferret would pay tonight.

She careful glided towards the dungeons, stepping by first placing the point of her toe on the ground then slowly roll to her heels, making no noise as she headed to her victim's room. She could hear thoughts bouncing around. The really loud ones, the ones most clear to the owner, clicked off the wall, floating to her ears. The thoughts changed as she walked down the hall. When she passed a door by a portrait of the Hogwarts crest, she could hear small, meaningless thoughts. Hufflepuff dormitories. Farther still, she could hear small fragments of complicated potions and spells. Obviously the Ravenclaw dormitories. She strained her ears, listening carefully for anything sinister, or evil. She walked down towards the dungeons. The dormitories would most likely be down there. Slowly, schemes of stealling the keys to tests and ways to torture Gryffindors came swimming to her ears. She smiled. She was so hungry. So hungry.

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Albus Dumbledore sat at his desk peering down at a piece of parchment. On the parchment was the clear and precise blueprints of Hogwarts. He was watching the Gryffindor tower pacifically tonight. During Potter's Occlumency lesson today, Albus had seen something quite disturbing. First there was a vampire slowly shifting through the shadows. Then he saw the Department of Magical Devices Experimentation. There was something deathly disturbing about it all. It should seem so plain. Every child has nightmares about vampires and Potter would have heard about the new department. He is a curious boy. He probably dreamt. Yet, it seemed so odd, so…real. Too real for it to be an ordinary dream. Potter and his friends were bound to be investigating the new department. Albus would not allow it. Harry needed to be safe this year. He was very vital in the times to come.

Suddenly a movement in the tower caught his eye. But it wasn't coming from the boys dormitory. It was coming from the girls dormitory. Albus's eyes widened as he read the words by the moving dot. _Artemis_. Simply Artemis. No last name, no details. Just Artemis. There was no one in Gryffindor by the name of Artemis. Albus scanned the girls dormitory. First the first years. Nothing there. Then the second years. Nothing there either. Nothing in third, forth, fifth, or sixth either. Albus than looked at the seventh years. Parvati was still in her bed. So was Lavender and Kathleen and Wendy and…Hermione was missing. Albus scrunched up his brow in concentration. Granger…Atremis…it made no sense. Yet…wait. Albus's eyes suddenly widened in understanding. He quickly summoned his record books. With a flick of a wand the dusty book that had landed on his desk flew open, quickly flying through the pages. It then stopped as it reached the _G_'s. Albus quickly flicked through the _G_'s until he found Granger's name. The color on Albus's cheeks drained. How could he have over looked such an important detail? How could he have forgotten that night…?

Albus seized his wand from top drawer of his desk along with the map on his desk and flew from his office. He tore down the halls, trying to catch up to the Artemis character. Albus didn't know what Artemis would do, but what ever it was, he had to stop it before she hurt someone.

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Artemis grinned as she slowly pushed open the door to the boys room. She was greeted by the smell of pine and mint. It wrapped around her, choking her. She growled softly. Useless males. She gradually made he way to the boys bed. His blonde hair burned into her cold blue eyes. It shone like the sun. She growled again. She hated the sun. Suddenly the boy awakened. Artemis smiled. She liked them awake. It was fun to feel them squirm under her long fangs. The boy stared into the mirror across from his bed, His eyes widened with shock, then slid into pools of victory. Artemis knew why. Since he couldn't see Artemis in the mirror, due to certain complications, all he saw was Granger. He began to turn over to face her.

"You're so busted Granger. Thought you could sneak up on me, hey? Well I'll tell you-" The boy froze as his eyes fell on her. Starting at her feet he slowly ran his eyes up her long skinny figure then to her long flowing black hair that sat on her shoulders like snakes. He finally fell on her crystal blue eyes. She sneered. Any color that was in the boy's face disappeared as he stared at the two long, pointed teeth where her canines should have been.

"Surprise," She said in a soft purring tone. "I'm afraid Granger couldn't make it. She's sort of, tied up, right now. Although, I'd be happy do give you what you deserve."

Artemis was about to plunge into the boys neck when an old wizard burst into the room, his wand pointed at her. He had blue eyes like Artemis's, only his were a gentle sort of blue. However, right now, they were determinably fixed on Artemis with a deadly sort of look about them. Artemis knew this man. He was the headmaster of her girls beloved school. They had met before.

"Artemis," he said firmly. "Would you kindly release Ms. Granger. Quickly."

Artemis let out a low growl. Not until she had her snack. Even if she had, she wouldn't obey the orders of a windbag like him.

"Artemis," the headmaster said, "Step away from Mr. Malfoy and release Ms. Granger unless you wish to face a wizards magic."

Artemis let out a long sighing growl and stepped away from her would-have-been-snack. She had faced his magic before, and it was nothing she wanted to deal with at the moment.

"Thank-you," The man said. "Now Ms. Granger, please."

Artemis closed her eyes. She proded at the small red book that sat in the middle of a never-ending black. It burst open with a beam of light, it's contents spilling. Artemis shivered with the horror of going back for another 300 years. She wandered through the endless fog of Hermione Grangers mind. She passed text books, parchments, quills, and even little facts such as the date of the Wizard Community Annual Fair. She wandered for a few moments until she reached a tall black brick wall that made an enclosed circle. On the wall there was an iron door with a steal bar window. Peaking inside Artemis could see Hermione huddled up in a corner rocking back and forth. Her eyes were glazed over. She was in a trance, just as Artemis had left her. Her arms were bound and her feet tied. Artemis couldn't have risked her running off.

Artemis flung open the door and stepped inside. She walked over to Granger. She placed an arm on her shoulder. Immediately Hermione came out of her trance and the ropes disappeared. She turned to face Artemis, looking at her with her big brown eyes that were currently full of fear.

"Where am I?" She asked.

"In the dark backs of you mind," Artemis said.

"And what are those?" Hermione asked pointing. She was pointing at one of the near twenty little black boxes flying around in the circle with them.

Artemis let out warning growl. She never liked questions.

"When can I leave?" Hermione asked in her soft squeaky tone.

"Now," Artemis said. She indicated to the door across from them. Hermione slowly stood up and then made her way to the door, shutting in behind her. Artemis sighed and sat down. A large silvery bowl with clear liquid appeared in front of her. Artemis sighed again. She never had gotten her snack. Granger owed her big.


	6. Dumbledore's Office

Dislcaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

**Dumbledore's Office**

Draco gasped as he watched the girl in front of him. She was what some might call attractive. She had long black hair that fell below the shoulders to about the middle of her torso. She had ivory skin as smooth as silk. He crystal blue eyes were shut at the moment. At first Draco thought that she had forgotten them, her lips moving in inaudible words. Suddenly, her eyes shot open. She took in a gasp of air. Her black hair began to turn a shade of honey brown, it's straight sleek appearance turning bushy, full of electricity. The length began to shorten until her hair rested evenly on her shoulders. Her pale skin turned a shade of tan. Her waist ever so slightly filled out. Then her skin tight robes slacked, covering up any womanhood. The blood red of her lips lessened to a soft pink shade that seemed to have the texture of a rose petal. Lastly, the blue in her eyes yielded to a warm, melted chocolate tint. She was, in a sense, much easier to look at. She didn't intimidate Draco like the other girl, the one Dumbledore had called Artemis, had. Yet, she did have a sense of confidence that was overwhelming. Her smooth face slid into an expression of fear and confusion. Before Draco could even register what happened, the girl fainted, landing on Draco's feet. Draco stared at her with amazement and wonder. It was Hermione Granger. He turned to Dumbledore, who had been silent up until now. Dumbledore simply raised his wand and, with a flick and a complicated wave, sent the girl rising into the air.

"Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore said, "I think you should come with me." He wore a solemn look that would have made you think that the world had come to an end.

Draco threw his sheets off himself. He was greeted by the steely cold of the falls night air. His rose to his feet, shivering. He picked up his dressing gown and pulled it over himself. He took one last look at his warm, cozy bed, then followed Dumbledore from his dormitory.

----------+-+-+-+-+----------

Hermione awoke to find herself lying on a very comfortable couch. She sat up quickly, immediately regretting it. Her head swarmed as pried at her memory, trying to remember what had happened. The last thing she remembered was climbing into her warm, cozy bed. And yet, there was something else, too. Something had happened after that. Hermione let out a low moan. Where was she anyway? Glancing around Hermione saw she was in an office of some sort. Across from her was a warm fire bursting with life, a large cauldron with a white hissing liquid basking in it's heat.

Hermione slowly got off the couch, only to fall on the floor beside it. It was amazing how weak she was. She gradually made her way across the floor, crawling to the fireplace. When she reached the fire place she positioned herself on the rug and lied down, feeling the warmth of the fire wash over her, enclosing her in a bed of calmness.

While lying down, Hermione looked about her. Beside the couch there was a small table with a goblet on it. Over the top of the couch Hermione could see a desk covered with scrolls. The wall behind the desk was covered in paintings of witches and wizards that seemed to range from mid-adult to an age that was far beyond retirement. On that same wall a perch stuck out from the wall. Under the perch there was a small bowl. The perch and the bowl were made of gold. It was a phoenix perch. Hermione raised an eyebrow. What teacher would have a…Dumbledore. Hermione mentally kicked herself. The witches and wizards on the walls were the old headmasters. But why was she in Dumbledore's office?

Suddenly, Draco Malfoy came bursting from a door to Hermione's right.. He looked at the couch. His eyes widened with fear.

"Professor! Granger's gone," Malfoy yelled towards the door he had come out of.

"I'm right here you idiot!" Hermione said in an exasperated tone as she rose to sit. Malfoy turned to face her. His eyes lowered to hers. He wore a look of utter hatred. Something different slid across his face, yet it disappeared as quickly as it had come. Something Hermione had only seen when he attempted to sabotage Harry's Quidditch game dressed as dementor and Harry had ended up sending a Patronus his way, and whenever Mad-Eye Moody was around. It was fear. Why would Malfoy be scared of her? If anyone should have been scared of anyone it should have been Hermione who was scared of Malfoy. (As if that would ever happen.) However, something had happened between when Hermione had fallen asleep and now. Something big. Something that was about to change Hermione's life forever.

Suddenly, Professor Dumbledore came charging from the door Malfoy had come from. He was holding a wooden bowl in his hand. Inside was a silvery liquid. Hermione knew what it was. Professor Dumbledore sighed with relief as he saw Hermione sitting on the rug.

"I'm glad to see you awake Ms. Granger. However it will be easier to discuss the past events with you sitting up on the couch," Professor Dumbledore said. His eyes twinkled, yet he wore a painfully solemn look on his face.

Hermione nodded. She tried to get to her feet, yet she collapsed just as before. She tried again. However this time when she flailed for balance, Malfoy came up to her and caught her. Hermione was suddenly overwhelmed with a sharp scent of pine and an implacable smell that scent her into a daze. Suddenly a sharp, powerful female voice filled her head.

_'Let me out. I'm hungry. I'll kill him for you. Put you out of your misery. We'll kill him together. We'll feel his delicate skin under out teeth as we suck out his juices. Just let me out. We can kill him together. I know what you want.'_

Hermione bit her lip. She slammed her eyes shut as she fought against the voice. Hermione had heard that voice before, somewhere.

"Granger?" Malfoy said. "Are you alright?"

Hermione snapped back to life. She turned to Malfoy, her face turning red. She was going insane. She nodded to Malfoy. He rolled his eyes and helped her to the couch. Once there, Malfoy quickly released his hold on Hermione and scurried to the other end of the couch, leaving Hermione to fall on the couch. Dumbledore glided over to the table on the end of the couch. He swiftly picked up the goblet and headed toward the fireplace. He pulled out his wand and with a flick the cauldron disappeared from the fire and appeared on a metal shelf. Dumbledore dipped the goblet into the potion in the cauldron. When he pulled the goblet out it was filled with a chalky white liquid. A think layer of fog floated above it. Dumbledore carefully made his way back to the couch. He handed the goblet to Hermione. Hermione took it, staring at it with hesitation.

"Don't worry, Ms. Granger," Professor Dumbledore said. "It's a Soothing Draught. It's quite safe."

Taking a deep breath, Hermione dumped the liquid down her throat. It slid down her across her tongue and down her throat with ease. Hermione felt like she was drinking a cloud. Dumbledore took the empty goblet from her and set it back in it's original place. Hermione fell back into the couch. Seconds before her head hit the couch, a soft down feathered pillow appeared beneath her head. She could feel Malfoy's jealous eyes upon her. He indeed appeared very tired. What time was it anyway?

"Ms. Granger," Professor Dumbledore said gravely. "We have something we must discuss.


	7. Pain

Dislcaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

**Pain**

Draco watched as Hermione anxiously drummed her long, thin, fingers on the table in front of her. Her perfectly curved cuticles at the perfect length clicked in a rhythmic _one, two three and four..._ Draco cleared his throat, throwing an annoyed look at Hermione. She glared at him, yet she stopped. She slowly leaned back in the chair. It let out a hiss as the air flew from it's seems. Hermione rolled her eyes at Draco's pleased look.

"Why are you here, Malfoy?" Hermione asked. Draco wanted to hit her so much...

"Mr. Malfoy is here," Dumbledore said, his back turned to them, "because the events about to take place will effect both of you enormously."

Hermione sighed and turned to stare out the tall floor to ceiling window to her left. The stars twinkled in perfect rhythm, as if playing a silent tune for all the world to see. Draco frowned. It was so perfect, it was discussing. However, Granger seemed to think otherwise. She was truly marveled by the magnificence of these small things. He could read the expression on her face like a book, and it was what people always say when they look up at the stars. _Isn't it fascinating? To think that we're just a tiny speck in the universe? And to think, there are millions more out there. It'd sort of frightening in a way. It makes you feel so small..._ If possible, Draco's frown became more creased. Never in a million years would something as stupid as that.

Dumbledore slowly turned from the small glass cabinet which he had been fiddling with. He glided over to his desk, which was in front of the table that Draco and Hermione were sitting at, and set the object in his hands down with a hollow _thud_. The thing he had been carrying was a wooden bowl. Inside was a...a...Draco wasn't' sure what it was. It was neither liquid, nor solid, nor gas. It was like Mercury, only it was to light to be Mercury.

"That's a Pensieve," Hermione said in awe. "I've only seen those in text books. They're really common for detectives and aurors. Teachers use them a lot too, but I've never seen one in McGonagall's office."

As Hermione said this, the wrinkled in her brow became deeper and deeper. She was obviously in deep thought.

"Ah, correct as usual, Ms. Granger," Professor Dumbledore said with a smile.

"So what's this got to do with us?" Draco said. this was getting highly irritating. He was tired and wanted to go to bed.

Dumbledore wordlessly put his wand to his head. A silvery strand came from his head. It was obviously a memory. He watched as Dumbledore placed it in the bowl. Draco watched as the images swirled in the pensieve. suddenly, a different color filled the peniseve. It was red. Not just red. It was a deep, caller of the bile, seething, heart-stopping, blood red. Hermione and Draco leaned closer. The image zoomed out to show two people. The image was so small that they practically had to shove their noses over it to see. Suddenly, Draco felt the ground wrenched from under him and everyone was sent head first into the bowl.

----------+-+-+-+-+----------

Hermione landed hard on her feet. She twirled around, taking in her surroundings. They had been sent into Professor Dumbledore's memory.

Glancing to her right, Hermione could see Malfoy looking around madly, an utterly confused look on his face. _Let him stay that way. Confused. Frightened. Vulnerable._

Hermione turned to the scene unfolding in front of her. She say a younger looking Dumbledore standing in a read position, sword at hand. Across from him is a figure floating in the air. It's a person. A woman. She has long black hair that floats about her, suspended by an invisible force. The twirls around her like snakes. Her pale skin shines will power. Her eyes are a fierce, intense gray. She's wearing a frayed black dress that billows around her. A black light shines around her, sending shivers down Hermione's spine. She hovered above the ground, suspended in the air. She's beautiful in an evil sort of way.

Hermione turns to her Dumbledore. He's frowning. His eyebrows are drawn together in concentration. Hermione bits her lip. Something tells her she's not going to like what's about to happen.

"This is where your time ends, Artemis," says the pensieve Dumbledore. He spoke with a powerful voice that shook the earth beneath Hermione's feet.

"Highly Unlikely, Dumbledore," The woman Dumbledore had referred to as Artemis said. Her voice echoed as if they were in a tunnel. It sounded far away, as if it were traveling from another world. "You may kill me, but I will live on. You will never be able to stop me, for I cannot die."

The pensieve Dumbledore gave a cold laugh. "I'm afraid you're wrong, Artemis. The dieing stops here."

Artemis laughed cruelly. Suddenly, the pensieve Dumbledore launched forward. The long sword made a sickening sound as it plunged straight through Artemis's gut. She let out a long, unearthly howl that hardly differed from that of a banshee's. Suddenly, a white-hot pain shot through Hermione's Stomach. She screamed as she doubled in pain. She fell to the ground at Malfoy's feet. The pain was unbearable. Hermione couldn't control her screams. Looking up, Hermione could slightly make out Malfoy's face through the tears pouring from her eyes. It was screwed up in unimaginable horror as he watched Hermione twist in pain. Slowly, the pain began to ebb. Hermione's screams slowly dissipated to whimpers. It didn't hurt as bad, but the pain was defiantly still there. Hermione turned to see what had happened to Artemis. She lay on the ground, blood oozing from her wound. Hermione felt the bile rising in the throat.

As Hermione watched, she could see a black wisp of smoke rising from Artemis's body. Suddenly, the air was filled with a chilling voice.

_The evil is gone, yet not dead. It will return to consume another._  
Hermione slowly felt herself losing consciousness. The voice seemed to soothe her to sleep.

_At the stoke of midnight, the demon shall return.  
A girl of birth, so innocent and unsuspected.  
She shall live her life a carefree one.  
On the eve of her 16th year the evil shall come shining through.  
She will have to walk a long path with many roads.  
The only one to trust is the evil she fears,  
The one who makes her cry.  
Together they will stop it once and for all.  
The evil is gone, yet not dead._

----------+-+-+-+-+----------

Hermione awoke to find herself laying across the couch in Dumbledore's office. Her head spun in an uncontrollable dizziness. Through the fog that clouded her eyes, Hermione could see Dumbledore sitting in an armchair, his head cradled in his hands in deep thought. Draco was standing next to him, his face paler than usual. Hermione groaned in pain. Dumbledore leaped from an armchair and rushed to Hermione's side. Hermione was amazed at the old man's speed. He kneeled by the couch Hermione was sprawled on.

"Are you alright Ms. Granger?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

Hermione slowly shook her head. "I don't know."

Hermione suddenly felt a tingle on her stomach. Hermione lifted her shirt to see a deep wound just above her bellybutton. It shone with blood on the inside. It looked red and puffy on the outside.

"What happened?" Hermione asked.

Dumbledore didn't answer. Instead, he leaned closer to examine the wound. Draco came over, peering at her curiously. Dumbledore slowly raised his hand and touched to wound.

Immediately the wound began to pulse with fierce pain. Hermione fought back a scream. She would wake the whole castle if she didn't hold it back.

_'The boy…,'_ came a voice.

Without thinking, Hermione reached forward and seized Malfoy's hand. She placed his fingertips to her would. Suddenly, the pain disappeared. Hermione stared at his fingertips on her wound. She then looked up at his face. He was staring at her with disbelief. Hermione was about to let go of his hand, completely disgusted with herself, when all the sudden, a blue light began to glow under his fingertips. It slowly wound it's way like a rope around his fingers and then up his wrist, attaching it to Hermione wound. Hermione, frightened, let go of Malfoy's hand. It was no use. The blue ribbon kept his hand firmly there. After a few moments, the blue ribbon disappeared, releasing Malfoy's hand. Malfoy quickly recoiled his hand. He stared at it in wonder, then turned to Dumbledore.

"What's going on?" He asked in a pitiful squeak.

"I'm not sure," Dumbledore said uneasily. "I'll have to do some research on this."

Hermione felt her heart sink. If Dumbledore didn't know what was going on, then they were really in trouble.

"Hermione, I suggest you and Mr. Malfoy go back to your dormitories," Dumbledore said in a suddenly stern voice. "It's probably best you don't tell anyone about this, either. That is, unless you want your names in tomorrows evening Prophet."

Hermione nodded. Draco did the same. Dumbledore dismissed them with a wave of his hand as he turned to his desk. Hermione and Draco got up and left the office. Hermione took one last look at Dumbledore. He was sitting at his desk, buried under a book. Hermione bit her lip in despair as she shut the door and followed Malfoy down the stairs.

----------+-+-+-+-+----------

Hermione turned to Malfoy as they reached the staircase. His glare was a cold blizzard of hatred.

"I hope you know this doesn't make us friends, Granger. Just because you had to go and mix me up in your crazy life doesn't mean I like you," Malfoy said.

Hermione started at this statement. What had he suspected? That Hermione had hopped that this would make them closer? That they would suddenly become mates?

"I hadn't planned on it Malfoy," Hermione said cooly. Draco rolled his eyes as he turned on his heel and strutted towards the dungeons.

Hermione sighed as she made her way to the Gryffindor tower. She hadn't decided whether she would tell Ron and Harry or not. She would feel better confiding in them, but gossip spreads faster in this school than colds at a kissing booth. It was bad enough that Malfoy was involved, but to confirm his story?

Hermione soon reached the portrait of the fat lady. After prodding her a few time, Hermione managed to wake her up. 

"Password?" she asked grumpily.

Hermione bit her lip. "Vincent the Vampire."

"Do you know when the other one's returning?" the fat lady asked.

"Pardon?"

"The other girl. Long black hair, thin figure."

Hermione shook her head. "Sorry, haven't seen her."

"Hm. I should tell Flitch…," The fat lady said lazily.

Hermione rolled her eyes as the portrait swung open. Hermione quickly climbed into the common room. Without stopping she made her way up the stairs to the girls dormitory. She flung open the door. It made a rather large thump as it hit the wall. Hermione flinched, waiting for the other to wake. Lavender stirred for moment, but then fell silent. Hermione shut the door, quietly this time, and made her way to her bed. She fell onto its soft surface, the frame squeaking ever so slightly under her weight. She pulled the covers over her. They were steel cold from her absence. It didn't matter. She was _so_ tired. The second Hermione's head hit the pillow she drifted into a deep sleep without another thought.


	8. Perfection Potion

Dislcaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

**Perfection Potion**

Hermione awoke the next morning to a screeching headache and a heart full of weight. She wanted to jump up and down and scream, cursing the world and all its inhabitants. Fuming, she dressed in her robes, trying to fight the fog in her mind. It felt like moths and invaded her brain and eaten away at her intelligence. Just trying to remember where she was seemed to be like trying to contain water in a hand with its fingers spread open.

Slowly, Hermione made her way down the stairs to common room. Sitting in the large armchairs were Harry and Ron. They leaped to their feet when they saw her, but recoiled when they saw here infuriated state.

"What's the matter with you, Hermione?" Harry asked, eying her up and down. She knew the sight of her must be horrific. She hadn't bothered to straighten her clothes and her hair must be scrambled about her head.

"Nothing, Harry," she said rubbing an eye. "Just tired."

Neither of the boys said another word until they had reached the Great Hall for breakfast. In the end, it was Ron who broke the silence.

"Hermione, you've seemed to be a little off lately. What's the matter?"

"Nothing, Ron," Hermione said, keeping her head down. The truth was, she herself didn't even know what was going on.

The three of them sat down at the Gryffindor table, Hermione on one side, Harry and Ron on the other. Ron dived into the food immediately. Harry lingered to watch Hermione for a moment, but then he himself began to eat his breakfast. Hermione, however, found it hard to concentrate on her breakfast with all the events of the previous night running through her head. Desperate to solve the puzzle that lay before her, she reached over to her bag she had placed beside her and pulled out a spare bit of parchment and an instant-ink quill. On the paper she began to write fragments of information she remembered from the previous night.

_Artemis and Dumbledore-past.  
Loss of memory   
Pensieve  
Malfoy involvement  
Blue ribbon  
Scar_

She scanned the list, looking for any possibility as to why all that had happened to her last night. The last word on her list startled her. She lifted her shirt slightly to see a long brownish looking scar. She raised an eyebrow and lowered her shirt. She rattled her mind for a minute, trying to remember anything else. Suddenly, she remembered the prophecy. She shivered at the thought a nearly fell to tears. So much had happened in so little time. She felt as if she would fall over any minute now from exhaustion and the heavy weights that she was certain were strapped to her shoulders. She couldn't move, she could barely breathe, and all the while she could think of nothing but Malfoy. Stupid, repulsive, thick, metal-eyed…utterly gorgeous Draco Malfoy. Hermione sighed. Screw him. Screw this all. She had mid-term exams coming up and she wasn't going to let Malfoy and some freaky spirit named Artemis get in the way. With that final thought, Hermione rose to her feet and got dressed, pushing all thoughts of the doom that lay ahead of her aside, if only for a day.

Hermione made it down to breakfast and through the first half of the day without a pause, misstep or trip. The only thing that seemed to be looking down on her was the dreaded potions class.

Hermione, Harry, and Ron walked slowly down to the dungeons, hating every step that brought them closer to the cold class room where the ultimate torture waited. Harry was the first to enter the room. Hermione and Ron followed him towards their usual table at the back of the room. Hermione felt the hairs at the back of her neck rise with a vengeance as she fought to control her urge to run from this room and never come back. Yet her duty to her good grades kept her in place. And not one displeasure would keep her from it.

Speaking of displeasures, Draco Malfoy had just come sauntering into the room, his face a mask of power. A mask, she thought, because Hermione knew that beneath it all he was just a big, ugly ferret. He sat himself down at a table to their right, throwing his bag down on the table with dignity. Hermione wanted to spit on him.

Suddenly, the door Draco had shut behind him burst open to reveal a very angry look8ing Snape. Hermione couldn't help but grin at his angry face as he cast her and her friends and loathsome look. They were used to it by now.

"Ms. Granger, if you would kindly stop smirking, we're ready to being our lesson," Snape hissed at her. Hermione could have sworn she saw steam coming out of his ears as drops of grease dripped from his head. She shuttered at the thought, but quickly resumed silence.

"Good," Snape said with a grin, his lips curling sinisterly at the corner of his lips. "Now, today we're going to be making the perfection potion. It allows the maker to turn the drinker into their idea of perfect for 1 hour. You will need the following ingredients."

Snape turned his back to the class as he began to write out the instructions in his stiff, illegible handwriting. Hermione started as she heard a voice hiss her name. Hermione looked to her right to see Malfoy leaning over to them, a small smile on his lips.

"How's your scar doing, Granger?" he asked, his lips drawn back into a visible smirk.

"Where are Crabbe and Goyle? Get lost along the way?" Ron hissed.

"They're in the hospital wing. Got drunk on fire whiskey. They're stomachs caught on fire," Draco said with a frown. "Dumb brutes."

Ron gave a cackled and took hold of Hermione's shoulder, pulling her attention back to the board. Hermione squinted at it, trying to make it out. When she did, she raised an eyebrow at the strange combination.

_3 fire seeds  
2 graphorns  
4 chizpurfle carapaces  
9 billywigs  
7 fairy wings  
2 firefly thoraxes  
5 dragon scales  
1 vial of toadstool extract  
2 leaves of octopus skin  
3 jars of hippogriff blood._

Put 3 jars of hippogriff blood in cauldron and hold cauldron over flame until boiling.  
Add 1 graphorn, 2 fire seeds, 5 dragon scales, 2 firefly thorazes, and 1 leaf of octopus skin **in that order**.  
Stir for 5 minutes or until ingredients dissolve.  
Add chizpurfle carapaces, billywigs, fairy wings, and toadstool extract. Remove cauldron from flame.  
On one roll of parchment write the qualities the person should receive from the potion. Burn over the flame and let the ashes fall into the potion.  
Put cauldron back on the flame and add remaining ingredients. When all ingredients are dissolved, removed from the cauldron from the flame and let the potion cool. 

Hermione shook her head, attempting to dislodge all doubts from her mind. She quickly moved from her seat and went to the ingredients cabinets. When she returned to her seat her arms were full of the necessary ingredients and a head over-laden from what had happened last night and the task that lay at hand.

Everything went smoothly until Hermione reached the part where she was supposed to write down the qualities she wanted the person to have. Hermione looked around the room for inspiration of some sort. She found nothing. What had see expected, an angel with a roll of parchment containing everything see needed? Hermione quickly scribbled down some words and brunt the parchment, letting the ashes settle into the potion. Hermione quickly finished the potion, only pausing when she burnt her finger on the cauldron. Soon her cauldron joined the others around her, cooling until they were ready to be used.

When everyone was done, Snape instructed the class the fill a vial with the potion and give it to a class mate. Quickly, everyone scrambled to find a partner. Harry and Ron, as usual, handed each other their vials and downed them with security. Before Hermione's eyes, she saw Harry change into Ron and Ron change into Harry. They buffoons both pointed to each other and laughed. Hermione rolled her eyes but had the grace to smile at them and join in at their laughter, only no quiet as strongly.

Draco Malfoy went slaughtering by, a small smile on his face. He was obviously heading towards Pansy. Ron, now Harry, held out a foot and tripped him. Draco did, indeed, trip on Ron's foot and ended up colliding with Hermione. Hermione let out a squeak as Draco's potion spilled on her, a decent about ending up in her mouth. Hermione's own potion had the same fate upon Draco. Ron watched in horror as his doppelganger Harry watched in horror as well. Hermione half expected to turn into some horrible, ugly pureblood type person with a horrible zit on her face, but nothing happened. The same applied for Malfoy.

"What was that?" he asked a blushing Ron, his front dripping with Hermione's potion. Hermione couldn't help but glare at Ron as well.

"Ron! You're ruined my potion!" she said in an exasperated tone.

"You've got plenty more in the cauldron," Ron said meekly. However, Snape was standing over Hermione's empty cauldron, wand at hand.

"I'm afraid not, Mr. Weasley. I've already emptied Hermione's cauldron. But perhaps she'll give you a more proper punishment for you absurd behavior than I can." He said this all with a grin, as if Hermione getting an F was funny. She supposed it was to him.

Draco returned to his cauldron with a smirk and an empty vial, only to let out a yelp of anger. Apparently his cauldron was empty too. He glared at Ron, who was too busy muttering quick apologies to Hermione. She brushed him aside, saying it was okay.

"What really bothers me is that nothing happened to Malfoy," Hermione said, her eyebrows wrinkled. "I'm certain I did it right."

"Maybe Malfoy's just to horid to be made perfect. He's beyond repair," said Harry, who's red hair was already beginning to turn a shade of black and grow fairly messy.

"Maybe," Hermione said softly, her head deep in thought.

"Come on," said Ron, who's brilliant red hair was beginning to shine through. "We've got charms next and that's on the second floor. We'd better get moving."

Hermione nodded and followed Ron and Harry up the grand staircase, the bubble of worry in her chest growing another 3 seizes.


	9. I Won't Be Ignored

**I Won't be Ignored**

Swelling heat met toxic humidity as Hermione Granger strode across the Hogwarts grounds, her hair fluttering behind her due to the inertia that physics presented. Brown eyes met steely blue for a moment, trapping their owners in a never-ending second in time when all feelings of hatred and pain were revealed, before the brown disappeared from the eyes of the blue, leaving a fuming Draco Malfoy under a peach tree.

Draco had watched her exit the castle and, frowning as she flung her robes irritably over the edge of the stairs, clearing infuriated about something. Her slender brow was arched low in a glowering position that Draco found did not suit her face in the slightest. Her soft brown eyes were ringed in a blanket of crimson, as if she had been crying for a long period of time. She walked with a purposeful and stride, as if she were trying to escape some demon within the castle...or probably Ron and Harry. Well, Draco thought with a small satisfactory smile, same thing.

Draco stood up hastily, leaving his robes and overflowing bag of parchments and books behind, following in Hermione's path. It didn't appear she had any apparent destination other than the farthest legal place from Hogwarts as possible. But, judging my the look on her face, Draco guessed she was willing to go somewhere out-of-bounds even, just to get away from the source of her reddened eyes. She looked scared and worried, as if Voldemort had just come up and shaken her hand. Maybe that thing, Artemis, was giving her trouble again.

_I am a little bit of loneliness, a little bit of disregard  
Handful of complaints but I can't help the fact  
That everybody can see these scars  
I am what I want you to want, what I want you to feel  
But it's like no matter what I do, I can't convince you  
To just believe this is real_

Draco walked after her for some time, watching as her brown hair billowed behind her while she stomped on, still oblivious to everything and one around her…oblivious to Draco. This did not exactly put a frosty mist on his fires. It had been several hours since Potions and Draco still couldn't unravel what had happened to their potion. And Granger, obviously, wasn't offering any ideas.

Granger had been acting so peculiar lately, as if she had an untamable dragon resting in her breast, fueling the fires of her anger and despair. She had been so distant from the rest of the world, appearing to all like a frost fairy, too delicate and precious to be near, for fear the a simple breath of air would unravel her. Yet, if Hermione was a frost fairy, Draco was surprised she hadn't melted herself away yet. She was always flinging foul words at people as of late, a hissing cat down to every detail.

For some reason, Draco found himself often comparing Hermione Granger to the feline species as of late. She hissed constantly, except for the few times when she purred at Ron or Harry's jokes. She had discovered a passionate dislike for water, and preferred cream with her breakfast rather than milk. Even her stride seemed more confident and graceful.

Draco, now not entirely satisfied with just stalking, decided it was time to move in for the kill. He quickened his pace, soon reaching and passing Hermione, who merely threw him a side-long glance before turning about around to walk back towards the castle.

_So I, let go watching you turn your back like you always do  
Face away and pretend that I'm not  
But I'll be here cause you're all that I've got_

"What's the matter, Granger?" Draco asked, moving back to follow her.

"I should be asking you the same question," Hermione said, keeping her eyes straight ahead as she avoided his gaze with a vengeance. Draco felt a fireball of his own quickly rising in his chest, threatening to burst from his stomach. How dare a filthy mudblood like her ignore HIM?

"What's that supposed to mean?" Draco asked, wrinkling his nose. Had the heat made her as mad as him? He asked his mind to remind him why he was stalking her, but all he heard was a faint sizzling sound. Great.

"I saw you the other day," Hermione said, still not looking at him. "You looked awfully upset…betrayed. You've looked like that for days. What's going on?"

Draco felt his face featured harden, willing his face to have the most outraged look of the millennium.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Granger," he said innocently, still stalking her. He felt pure anger seep through him as he watched her continue walking, ignoring him completely as she wiped a tear from the bottom of her eye. Draco bit his lip, remembering the moment in which he had mimicked this action, feeling utterly betrayed by his father.

"Come off it, Granger," Draco said, grabbing her wrist and pulling her to face him. He used his other hand to seize her chin and yank it up and over so he could look her straight in the eyes. Brown met blue for the second time in the physical world that day, but Draco found himself staring into clouded eyes. She had somehow still managed to ignore him. He tightened his grip on her face, resisting the urge to shake her back and forth to force her to look at him. Instead, he merely dragged her into the near-by shadows cast by the trees. To have a teacher mosey on up to them and demand that Draco release Hermione somehow didn't seem like the ideal way to get her attention on to him and his eyes.

"Let me go," Hermione said in a low and dangerous voice. She placed a hand on each of Draco's, her eyes now burning with an unseeing laser through Draco's soul. She could shoot her venom into his mind, but she could not see beyond the air in front of her. For some reason, this did not make Draco feel more confident. Go figure.

The hands that rested on Draco's were soft and warm. Hermione did not use them to apply pressure to his own to push them away from her, but the contents of her eyes told him that she was indeed a force to be reckoned with. Draco loosened his grip, but did not release. Instead, he pursued the nature of her journey across the grounds.

"That's none of your business, Malfoy," Hermione spat. Literally.

If Draco would have had a free hand, he would have wiped off the small glob of spit on his face, but he would not let his catch escape. Instead, he backed her up until she was pressed against a tree trunk by his hips. She suddenly looked fearful.

Draco now temporarily released one of his hands from her neck to wipe the glob of spit from his face. He wiped it on the front of her robes, earning a cat-like hiss from her

"It is my business now," Draco said, resisting the urge to spit back on her face, or perhaps slam her into the tree. He wasn't really sure what kind of 'slam' he meant, but it would definitely prove to anger the young woman, "Because if you lie to me, I'll make it my business by choking you to death."

"What caused you to be so concerned?" Hermione asked, her face returning to its original glowering expression.

"I fine it rather entertaining to entangle my life into one of a damsel in distress," Draco muttered, his heart jerking slightly as he said it.

"Let go of me, Malfoy," Hermione muttered. The hands that had been laying on Draco's now gave an almighty shove, dislodging Draco's hands from her body. Hermione quickly seized the opportunity to run from Malfoy, but the opportunity was snatched away as Draco seized Hermione by the waist.

_I can't feel the way I did before  
Don't turn your back on me  
I won't be ignored  
Time won't heal this damage anymore  
Don't turn your back on me I won't be ignored_

"Did you honestly think I was talking to you for the fun of it," Draco said, smiling as Hermione's body grew rigid. Hermione turned the best she could within Draco's grip to get a better look at him.

"What do you want, Malfoy," Hermione hissed, her voice low and soft with a venom-like sting.

"To show you this," Draco said as he held out his forearm to reveal a long slit of a pale scar, the sort you would be left with after experiencing a deep cut. Hermione sneered.

"As interesting as I find you battle scars, Malfoy, I'd prefer you didn't ambush me to show them off."

"Stop the stupid cracks, Granger," Malfoy said with a growl. "I just got this that night…after the…well, you know."

Draco watched as Hermione's eyes grew wide. He knew she was remembering exactly what had happened the other night. The event was still clear in his mind, burning into his soul and conscious.

Draco growled. He felt the small amount of patience he had held so kindly before him moments ago seeping away into the night as his heart began to pound against his ribs. Granger always seemed to know the exact muscle to hit repeatedly, driving him to insanity. The cool way she talked was enough to drive any normally sane man in front of a freight train, let alone a 17 year old boy with a nut-case father for a role-model. But it was the small things she did that seemed to nag at him softly, pushing him to want to seize her by the neck and…Draco wasn't sure what he wanted to do. The way she tossed her hair so casually over her shoulder and gave him a penetrating stare was enough to…to…Draco wasn't sure on this one either. All he knew was if he didn't have her now, he would die of the pain.

Hermione seemed rather irritated at Draco's stubbornness. "I don't know what you expect me to do right now, Malfoy, but I suggest you just leave me alone."

"This is entirely your fault, you know," Draco said, seizing her by the hand again. "You're cursed, Granger. You're foul, filthy and unfit to live to see the light of day! I know you did this to me! I know it! Because it was it was after you decided to get me tangled up in whatever hell you're living in! It was you, and I know it!"

_I am, a little bit insecure, a little unconfident  
Cuz you don't understand I do what I can  
Sometimes I don't make sense  
I am, what you never wanna say, but I've never had a doubt  
It's like no matter what I do I can't convince you for once just to hear me out_

Hermione's face paled. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a large black talon, which was bathed in a pale aura of black and silver that was pulsing violently, as if too much was contain within it. She eyed it with a frightened look before moving to look at his arm, then back to the talon, double-taking.

"Spit it out, Granger!" Draco said.

Hermione let out a low, feline like hiss, her eyes rising to meet his. They were ringed in a layer of silver, taking on an oval, vertical slit like posture like the eyes of a cat. She threw the talon at him, her nose wrinkled slightly.

"Mind your own business, Malfoy!" she said in her hiss-like voice. "It's none of your business what goes on in my life!"

"Granger!" Malfoy growled. He seized her by the arm, pulling her close to him. "You honestly think I enjoy hearing about your pathetic life! You're too perfect; I swear it's sickening some times! You think that because you're so perfect, you need to have everyone pay attention to you! Well they do, Granger, but it's not the sort you would want! They all hate and loath you and your stupid brains! The only reason that Harry and Ron are friends with you is that they feel sorry for you, and they're too stupid to do their homework themselves! Even they hate you half the time! So stop ignoring me and tell me what's going on, because right now I'm the only one who's going to listen!"

Hermione seemed rather shocked by Draco's sudden outburst. She threw him a dirty look before snapping "I don't know WHAT'S going on Draco. All I know is that I've had this black talon my whole life and now it's starting to glow and do strange things. I don't know anymore than you do so why don't you go complain about it to Dumbledore!" With that Hermione departed, tears pouring unchecked down her cheeks.

_So I, let go watching you turn your back like you always do  
You face away and pretend that I'm not  
But I'll be here cause you're all that I've got_

----------+-+-+-+-+----------

Hermione pressed her lips tightly together as she struggled with her Advanced Transfiguration essay on the history, present, and proper uses of Animagus abilities, as well as the road to becoming one. She had far more than the required amount of parchment written upon, but every time she went to put her quill down, another fact leaped into her head. For a few seconds the thought would just linger there like a lost kitten, giving her its big, glassy, utterly adorable eyes which were practically begging her to take it in and take care of it, which required a few more minutes of writing. She felt rather ridiculous when she thought of it this way, but she always felt bad for things that were abandoned. Just like when she was little she felt bad that one of her 15 stuffed animals was closer to her than the others, so she'd line them up beside her body so they'd all be next to her. She was always worried that if one got more attention, the other stuffed animals would kill it or at least de-stuff it a little bit. And she'd always say goodnight to them in their own special little sentence, so no one would feel left out. Weird, but hey, she was 7.

Hermione sighed deeply and threw her quill down for what felt like the twentieth time and let her body fall back in the armchair. To her relief, Ron broke his quill, which made Hermione, out of the kindness of her heart, hand hers over to him as a surrogate. This action was also beneficial to Hermione because this meant Hermione had no quill to use to add more stuff to her essay. She was done with a capital and bold **D.**

As Hermione handed over her quill to Ron he let out a detesting groan.

"Done already, Hermione? Please tell me you have another subject to work on!" His question was quickly answered when Hermione opened her planner and crossed off the last item on her list of subjects. Ron groaned again. "I'll never finish this essay! And I've got another one for Snape too! And that one's 3 times as long as McGonagall's. She knew we had this essay and she didn't even take a moment to think we might deserve a break!"

"Honestly, Ron!" Hermione snapped. "You'd think that you'd have figured it out by now! All the teachers think that their subject is most important and deserves to be taken as a top priority. Did you honestly think McGonagall would back down more now that we're 7th years? Now if you want to know what the REAL best subject is, I could happily tell you that Aritmancy-"

_I can't feel the way I did before  
Don't turn your back on me  
I won't be ignored  
Time won't heal this damage anymore  
Don't turn your back on me I won't be ignored_

"Hermione!" Ron shouted, cutting Hermione off, "If it's not the bloody teacher you go on about all the time it's the actual subject! 'Oh, Professor Vector, I put an extra decimal in one of my charts! Could I do a couple HUNDRED essays to make up for it? Just one? Oh no, I'd feel much better if you let me do MUCH MORE!"

"WILL YOU TWO SHUT YOUR ARSES UP? SOME OF US INTEND TO DO THEIR HOMEWORK TONIGHT, EVEN IF THEY DON'T HAVE THE INTELLEGENCE OF A HARVARD PROFESSOR AT THE AGE OF 16!" shouted Harry angrily. Hermione blushed softly while Ron's ears turned pink. Ron dropped his head slowly and muttered a small apology to Hermione.

Hermione sighed as she fell back into the chair again. The three of them were the last of the Gryffindors in the common room, still there even as the embers of the fire were beginning to lose their bright orange shine. Everything seemed so calm now, even though Hermione knew that somewhere deep within the center of her soul, there was a raging battle taking place between her own mind and another demon that hungered for domination over her body and was driven by a hunger for animal blood.

She threw Ron (what was trying to get a look at her paper) a venomous look before scooting farther away from him and closer to Harry, who was pouring over a small and tattered brown book. Hermione raised a quizzical eyebrow at him as she attempted to ignore Ron's angered complaints. Harry gave a sheepish grin.

"A diary of my dads," he said, revealing the cover of the brown book. On the cover was an indent of the Gryffindor crest with the words "James Potter" underneath. "I found it in Sirius's room. My dad recorded how he became an animagus. I thought it might help. At least I can say I got a real-life example."

Ron snorted indignantly. "Were you planning on offering us that things help as well? Honestly Harry, you'd think you would have at least mentioned a few things in it to me."

Hermione ignored Ron and politely held out a hand to Harry, asking to see his essay to look over what he'd written. He gave her a suspicious look.

"Come off it, Harry," Hermione said with a grunt. "I'm not going to copy you. I'm going to stick to published books written by recognized authors for information. I'd just like to make sure you're not writing down anything false."

Harry sighed and handed over his essay, arguing that it wasn't very good and that he was going to ask her to edit it for him anyways.

_Hear me out now  
You're gonna listen to me like it or not  
Right now, hear me out now  
You're gonna listen to me like it or not  
Right now_

"Although, let's be honest, Hermione. If anyone knows anything about animagi, it's an animagus." Harry said with a cheery smile.

Hermione lowered her eyes to the parchment. Indeed, Harry hadn't written a great deal, but it seemed to be fairly accurate. The introduction was lengthy, which was Harry's attempt to add a few inches of writing to the parchment. It was several lines later that he finally got to the point.

"_Some people, however, seem to find a different way of obtaining Animagus skills. Some may use it to frighten enemies while others use it for the good of their friends. I investigated a story of a man and his friends who became illegal Animagi so that they might make the transformations of their werewolf friend more enjoyable._

_The man and his friends spent several months studying the art of becoming an Animagus and trying small stepping-stone spells to build the skills needed. Then they began a years worth of investigating on the types of animals that were safe to transform into. Several tests were also taken to determine-"_

The essay cut off suddenly. Hermione handed it back to Harry, a small smile on her face.

"Sound's fairly reasonable," she said as Harry took the essay from her hand. "You could use a little work."

Suddenly, Hermione felt her brain go numb. The quill she had held in her right hand fell from her grasp, slowly fluttering to the floor. She stood up, her eyes blank and hollow.

"I have to go," Hermione said. She walked stiffly to the portrait door and pushed it open and exited the common room, leaving behind a very baffled pair of boys.

_I can't feel the way I did before  
Don't turn your back on me  
I won't be ignored_

----------+-+-+-+-+----------

Draco sat on his four-poster, hitting his head repeatedly against the book he held in his hands. This Transfiguration essay was rather frightening. Draco could easily write 5 rolls of parchment on the subject of Animagi, but he had to go excruciatingly slow, for fear that his excess about of knowledge would leak onto the page.

A tap on the window brought Draco out of his fits of worry and to the matter at hand. He had written to his father a few days ago after the matter concerning Granger and was anxious to hear his reply.

Draco strode over to his window and released the lock. A sudden rush of cold end-of-Fall wind hit him dead in the chest, making him fall backwards slightly. In flew a large black owl, whose feathers were slightly ruffled in a wind-swept sort of way. It fluttered gracelessly into the room and landed on Draco's desk, pushing a few papers off in the process. Draco righted himself quickly and latched the window shut before walking to his desk the release the owl of its burden, which was a black envelope sealed with the Malfoy crest. The bird flew to Draco's shoulder and rested it, and then the bird rubbed his head affectionately against Draco's cheek. It had been a while since him and his father had corresponded, which meant he hadn't seen Fredo in a long span of time as well.

Grudgingly Draco went back to the window and opened it just enough that Fredo could get out but the wind wouldn't stir up the room. He watched the owl fly off into the distance for a while before he remembered his father's letter. He returned to his desk and sat down, seizing a silver letter-opener in that rested on his desk. He slit it through the envelope to reveal a small scrap of parchment his father had scrawled across.

_I can't feel the way I did before  
Don't turn your back on me  
I won't be ignored  
Time won't heal this damage anymore  
Don't turn your back on me I won't be ignored _

_Draco,_

_I was quite alarmed to hear about the recent developing of Miss Granger. It appears that Voldemort's predictions were off. We weren't anticipating this for another 5 or so years. Try to find out as much as you can about this predicament without alarming the girl or Dumbledore. But don't tell her too much in return. Your secret it too valuable to reveal just yet. And you aren't fully developed yet. Give it time._

_By the time you get this is should be the full moon, which means that Artemis will be unleashed for a small period of time. Track her down and question her. Find out her allegiances._

_Don't fail me now, my son._

_Lucius_

Draco felt himself seize up. He had to go find Artemis? That last thing he wanted was to be anywhere nears that girl ever again. But a cool wind on his neck told him he didn't have any choice. There was an overwhelming presence in the room that was unmistakable.

"Hello, Draco," whispered a soft, musical voice in his ear. He could feel a stone-cold body press against his back, tipping his chair forward slightly.

Draco gulped, knowing that this may very well be his last conversation on earth. "Hello, Artemis."

_I can't feel  
Don't turn your back on me I won't be ignored  
Time won't tell  
Don't turn your back on me I won't be ignored_


End file.
